Coronavirus

The state is cancelling all in-person education at K-12 schools for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year. The move to finish the school year with remote education was announced by Gov. Mike DeWine with two reasons in mind.

Ohio’s number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 spiked to 11,292 Sunday – fueled in part by mass testing at three prisons. But the head of the institute that’s has been working with the state on modeling says this weekend may have been an important one in the fight against coronavirus.

158,678 Ohioans filed for unemployment this week - bringing the four-week total to 855,197 and driving the jobless rate for March up by a third to 5.5%, from 4.1%. And now Gov. Mike DeWine is laying out more details of what is expected to be a slow and methodical reopening of businesses in Ohio.

The state is preparing to release the new unemployment numbers Thursday as the agency that processes jobless claims continues to experience challenges. But leaders say a new round of improvements is coming.

The state has filed a lawsuit against a Cleveland-area man for hoarding personal protective equipment that is sorely needed by health care workers fighting coronavirus. 

State officials are warning people that the process of loosening Stay At Home restrictions will be slow and gradual. They add that when businesses to start to reopen, the state hopes to have a system in place to track the possible spread of coronavirus.

Most Ohioans will soon be getting a stimulus check as part of a federal aid bill signed into law last month. Banks and creditors might see this as an opportunity to collect. But, Ohio’s law enforcement chief is putting them on notice that they can’t touch that money.

Ohio Auditor Keith Faber is telling local governments to take a close look at their finances and to prepare for things to get worse before they get better.

Part of Ohio's response to COVID-19 is planning how to begin allowing businesses to reopen after the Stay At Home order is set to expire on May 1. As Gov. Mike DeWine has been discussing how those plans look in Ohio, President Donald Trump suggests the decision comes from the White House.

Ohio has its first inmate death due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Mike DeWine says an inmate at the Pickaway Correctional Institution has passed away. Last week, a corrections officer at the Marion Correctional Institution died from the illness.

Social distancing and the stay-at-home order have caused a lot of people to change their plans. But some tenacious Ohioans aren’t letting the pandemic get in their way. And they are getting creative about finding alternatives.  

The Ohio Department of Health is now tracing probable cases of COVID-19 in the state through a detailed case definition that the department says will help them study the spread of the virus.

The federal government is in the process of sending out checks to most Americans as part of the stimulus package responding to the economic fallout of the coronavirus. U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) talk about some of the next steps they'd like to see from Congress.

This month is a special one for people of many faiths, and not being able to gather has been a concern for those who find fellowship to be comforting, and even necessary in tough times. So faith leaders are finding unique ways to reach out to their congregations.

More than 226,000 people – over a quarter of a million Ohioans – filed for unemployment in just the last week. Nearly 700,000 Ohioans have filed in the last three weeks. And a task force of state representatives met this week and will meet again Monday to talk about when to open up Ohio’s economy again.

A few dozen protesters marched around the Ohio Statehouse calling on Gov. Mike DeWine to reopen businesses in the state while DeWine counters that the latest studies show social distancing is working and "saving lives."

The state is seeing a steady increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases and a steeper rise in the number of deaths. However, medical researchers are putting out models showing the potential peak of coronavirus is getting lower.

Ohio restaurants have not been able to serve mixed drinks and straight liquors since the state order that closed dine-in services took effect last month. Now, the state is making a change to its rules that will allow restaurants to serve those drinks along with take-out meals. 

The Ohio Hospital Association has sent out its guidelines for allocating scarce resources, detailing what medical staff should do if they don't have the equipment they need to treat patients with COVID-19.

There are reports of deaths in a federal prison in Ohio that are suspected to be COVID-19 related. And fourteen inmates and nearly 30 staffers have tested positive for COVID-19 in three Ohio state prisons. The state has now identified more prisoners who could be released from those state facilities.

The Ohio Supreme Court had a historic session on Tuesday – oral arguments were conducted remotely.

Bars and restaurants in Ohio closed on March 15, and the stay at home order took effect March 23. And the state is now starting to feel the financial effects of those and other restrictions imposed to halt the spread of coronavirus.

Gov. Mike DeWine is authorizing the Ohio National Guard to go help a federal prison located in the state. He's also considering the possibility of more release recommendations for Ohio's prisons.

Ohio’s coronavirus tracking website is now showing a breakdown of COVID-19 cases and deaths by race and ethnicity. But the state health director is cautioning that this information is incomplete.

A panel of three federal court judges won’t get involved in a dispute over abortion and the state’s coronavirus order regarding elective surgery – which keeps facilities that perform abortions open for now. 

Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio's top health leader say Ohioans should to wear homemade and non-medical grade masks when they go out in public.But wearing a mask doesn’t mean you can’t get coronavirus.

Some Ohio breweries have switched from producing alcohol to making hand sanitizer. Other companies are making or recycling medical grade masks needed by doctors and nurses on the front lines, and some have donated medical supplies. But state leaders are not just relying on the state’s businesses to meet those demands.

Gov. Mike DeWine is asking county judges to hold hearings for the possible release of inmates who are pregnant, recently gave birth, or over the age of 60 with little time left in their sentence.

Leaders of Ohio’s foodbanks say they are overwhelmed by the demand on their services right now. They’re urging the federal government to increase food stamp benefits by 15% and asking Ohio’s leaders to kick in $25 million dollars to help pay for emergency services. 

Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton says the state could be looking at issuing protocols for all hospital staff in order to help preserve personal protection equipment or PPE.